What are the best tools for valuing a small business online?
The best online valuation tool is the one that shows its earnings basis, its multiple and its assumptions, works in Australian dollars from a complete Australian financial year, and calls its output an appraisal rather than a valuation. Several free tools meet most of that test, including bizflip's own, and bizflip publishes this page. Others do particular things better: Equidam publishes its complete methodology as a document, bizval's paid tiers cross-check three methods, and Scale Suite lets you override the multiple on the page. None replaces a practitioner's valuation where a lender, a court or the ATO is involved.
By the bizflip team · Published 3 September 2026 · Facts checked 3 September 2026 · Sources listed below
bizflip publishes this page, and its own free appraisal tool at bizflip's free appraisal tool is one of the candidates below, so read what follows as a disclosure as much as a comparison. The honest version of the answer is that no online tool is best for every business. What separates a usable tool from a lead form is what it discloses: the earnings basis it used, the multiple it applied, the financial year it worked from, and whether it describes its output accurately. This page compares the tools an Australian owner is likely to find on those terms, names where other tools do things ours does not, and sets out the point at which a tool of any kind stops being enough.
What an online tool is, in Australian terms
Accountants who belong to Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia or the Institute of Public Accountants work under APES 225 Valuation Services whenever they provide an estimate of value. The standard distinguishes a full valuation engagement from a calculation engagement, in which the member and the client agree in advance on the approaches, methods and procedures to be used, and which generally does not include all of the procedures a full valuation requires. An automated tool is not bound by the standard, but the distinction is the right way to think about it: every calculator on this page is a calculation, an agreed method applied to your figures, not a valuation. The ATO's guidance on market valuation for tax purposes adds that acceptability usually depends on the process undertaken rather than who conducted it, and that a report by a suitably qualified professional following industry standards is considered more reliable.
The tools, compared on what they disclose
Each row is drawn from the tool's own page as at the review date. Prices are in Australian dollars where the tool quotes them.
| Tool | Cost and gate | What it asks and how it prices | What it discloses |
|---|---|---|---|
| bizflip market appraisal | Free; no email | Your own figures; prices on PEBITDA (owner-adjusted earnings); anchors on your newest complete financial year | Names the earnings basis and the year used; method shown at each step; calls its output an appraisal, not a valuation |
| Value My Business Australia (Spark Equity) | Free; no email gate | EBITDA and SDE multiples across 21 industries, with adjustments for management structure, customer concentration, recurring revenue and business maturity | Describes its output as directional and says when to engage a qualified valuer |
| Scale Suite estimator | Free; no signup | Annual revenue, annual expenses and industry; (revenue minus expenses) times an industry multiplier | Multiplier ranges printed on the page; custom multiplier option; returns A$0 if earnings are zero or negative |
| Swoop AU | Free | Net profit for each of up to three trading years, business assets, business liabilities and a profit-trend choice; averages the profits, applies an undisclosed trend-based multiple and adds net assets | Method and multiple not stated on the page; described as for illustration purposes only |
| Podium | Free | Revenue, cost of sales, overheads, asset value and office employees | Reports gross profit, EBITDA and a valuation; the multiple is not disclosed |
| bizval express | Free; name and email required; paid tiers | Business age, sector, region, currency, annual revenue, annual profit after tax, a banded three-year growth expectation and an owner-dependency question; priced by what bizval calls its unique algorithm, multiple not disclosed | Paid tiers add DCF, earnings multiple and net asset value; its startup tier describes its methods as bespoke and developed with universities; the method is not published in detail |
| Business Value Calculator | A$99 (from A$250); email required | 28 industries; net profit before owner's salary, owner's salary, add-backs, plant and equipment, stock and a quality rating | Adjusted profit times industry multiple; built by chartered accountants |
| Equidam | Free to start; paid plans | Startup-oriented; scorecard, checklist, two DCF variants and the venture capital method | Complete methodology published as a downloadable document |
Some pages that rank for the phrase valuation calculator are not calculators at all. CFO On-Call's page, for example, is a written guide that suggests multiplying net profit or EBITDA by 2.5 to 3.5 and states that it does not replace a formal valuation. That is a rule of thumb, honestly labelled, and it is worth knowing the difference before you type anything in.
Where other tools do things ours does not
- Published methodology. Equidam publishes its complete methodology as a downloadable document and is built for pre-revenue and early-stage companies. bizflip shows its working step by step inside the tool but does not publish a standalone methodology paper, and its appraisal anchors on a completed financial year of trading, so it is not the tool for a business that has not yet traded a full year.
- More than one method. bizval's paid tiers cross-check a discounted cash flow, an earnings multiple and a net asset value. bizflip's appraisal is an earnings-multiple engine. For an asset-heavy business where the net asset figure matters, bizval gives you a second method that ours does not.
- A multiple you can override. Scale Suite prints its multiplier ranges on the page and lets you type in your own. If you want to test a broker's quoted multiple against your figures in thirty seconds, that is the quicker tool.
- Named adjustments. Value My Business Australia states on its page that it adjusts for management structure, customer concentration, recurring revenue and business maturity, which makes it easy to see what moved its number.
Where all the free tools fall short together
- None can see settled prices. The nearest thing to a record of what Australian businesses actually sold for is the Australian Institute of Business Brokers' Bizstats, described by the institute as Australia's largest database of completed business sales and exclusive to its members. Every calculator, ours included, is applying an estimated multiple, not a measured one. Our guide on free data on Australian sale multiples explains why.
- None computes your tax. A sale price is not sale proceeds. The small business CGT concessions can change what you keep, and eligibility turns on tests no calculator assesses. Ask your accountant before you price the business.
- None normalises for you. If you enter net profit after paying yourself a nominal wage, or before deducting a market wage for your own role, the tool will multiply the number you gave it. SDE versus EBITDA sets out the adjustment.
- None is a valuation. A tool that calls its output a valuation report is telling you something about how carefully it was built.
Free data tools that are not calculators
Three free sources are more useful than most calculators, precisely because they do not produce a value. The ATO's small business benchmarks, built from 2023–24 tax returns, let you compare cost-of-sales and expense ratios against similar businesses in the same industry and turnover band; they are limited to businesses that supply goods and services directly to consumers with turnover between A$30,000 and A$15 million, and they check your inputs rather than your output. business.gov.au sets out the standard valuation methods, from market comparison and return on investment to asset value and projected profit, without charge. And Aswath Damodaran of NYU Stern publishes free enterprise-value-to-EBITDA multiples by industry every January, including a combined Australia, New Zealand and Canada dataset; those are listed-company multiples, well above what an owner-operated business fetches, but they show how the market ranks industries from a source with no product to sell. Our multiples by industry guide quotes the Australian adviser ranges that tools are usually built on.
How to run a tool properly
- Use a complete Australian financial year, 1 July to 30 June, and the same one in every tool.
- Decide the earnings basis first. Work out EBITDA with a market wage for your role deducted, and the owner-inclusive figure with it added back, and enter whichever the tool asks for.
- If you sell directly to consumers, check the ATO benchmark for your industry before you trust any output. An implausible profit figure gives a confident wrong answer in every tool you paste it into.
- Run two tools and compare. Where they disagree, the difference is in the assumptions, so keep the one that told you what it assumed.
- Change one input, your own wage, and watch whether the result moves. If it does not, the tool is not normalising owner earnings.
- Compare the result with current asking prices for similar businesses, remembering an asking price is a ceiling rather than a settled price.
When to stop using tools
A tool gets you oriented. When a lender, a court, a departing partner or the ATO will rely on the number, commission a valuation from an accountant working under APES 225 or from a registered business valuer; the AIBB says its Registered Business Valuers are engaged for sales, bank financing, partnership dissolutions, family law and capital gains tax matters. The ATO's guidance on instructing a valuer is specific: set out the scope and purpose, provide accurate information, acknowledge the valuer's independence and state that the fee does not depend on the outcome. If you engage and properly instruct a professional valuer, you generally will not be liable for penalties if the valuation later proves deficient, which no tool can offer. Our guide to how much a business is worth covers the method from there.
Sources
Every load-bearing claim in this guide, and where it comes from:
- APES 225 'defines valuation services to include valuation engagements, limited scope valuation engagements and calculation engagements' and 'applies to all members who provide an estimate of value for a business, business ownership interest, security, intangible asset, or other asset or liability'. — Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB)
- A Calculation Engagement is one 'where the Member and the Client or Employer agree on the Valuation Approaches, Valuation Methods and Valuation Procedures the Member will employ' and 'generally does not include all of the Valuation Procedures required for a Valuation Engagement'; the Professional Bodies are Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia and the Institute of Public Accountants. — Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB)
- 'For tax purposes, the acceptability of a valuation usually depends on the valuation process undertaken rather than who conducted it'; a report 'carried out by a suitably qualified professional following commonly-accepted industry standards and professional codes of conduct ... is considered more reliable by us'. — Australian Taxation Office (Market valuation for tax purposes)
- bizflip's appraisal is free, asks for no email, prices on PEBITDA, anchors on the newest complete financial year and names it, shows the method at each step, and describes its output as an appraisal rather than a valuation. — bizflip
- 'Value My Business is a free, independent Australian business valuation tool. It applies industry-standard EBITDA and SDE multiple methodology used by Australian business brokers and M&A advisors, with adjustments for management structure, customer concentration, recurring revenue and business maturity'; the hero states 'No email gate. No sales call. Just your number.' and 'Two minutes · 21 industries · No follow-up unless you ask'; 'Results are a directional estimate only and not a substitute for a formal valuation by a qualified valuer for legal, financing, partnership, divorce, estate, or ATO purposes'; 'Built and maintained by Spark Equity, an Australian permanent capital firm'. — Value My Business Australia (Spark Equity)
- Scale Suite's estimator is free with no signup, takes annual revenue, annual expenses and industry, calculates '(revenue - expenses) x industry multiplier', displays multiplier ranges by industry, offers a custom multiplier, and sets the valuation to $0 'If earnings are zero or negative'. — Scale Suite
- Swoop's calculator asks for 'Trading years' (one to three), a net profit figure for each of those years ('Latest year net profit', 'Previous year net profit', 'Year before that net profit'), 'Business assets', 'Business liabilities' and a 'Current business levels' choice; its script averages the net profits, multiplies by 7, 4 or 2 according to that choice (values the page does not display) and adds assets minus liabilities, reporting 'Average net profit', 'Net assets' and 'Approximate business value'; the page does not state the method and says the calculator 'is intended for illustration purposes only'. — Swoop Funding
- Podium's calculator takes revenue, cost of sales, overhead costs, total asset value and number of office employees, and calculates 'Gross Profit, EBITDA, and EBITDA Percentage, culminating in your comprehensive Business Valuation' without specifying the multiple used. — Podium
- bizval describes express as 'Our complimentary indicative valuation tool'; the express form requires Name and Email and asks 'How old is your business?', 'What sector do you operate in?', 'What is your primary region of operations?', 'Currency', an 'Annual revenue/turnover? (numbers only)' box, 'What is your annual profit after tax? (numbers only)', 'What is your expected annual growth rate for the next 3 years?', 'If you take a three-week holiday, what happens?' and 'Why are you doing a valuation?', with a terms-of-use checkbox and reCAPTCHA before 'Get my indicative valuation'; the form has no account or password field. — bizval
- bizval's pricing page lists express as 'QUICK and EFFORTLESS – Takes less than 30 seconds' with 'Instant valuation results' and a 'Unique bizval algorithm'; paid tiers list '3 valuation methodologies (DCF, EM and NAV)'; the startup tier lists 'Bespoke valuation methodologies' 'Developed in conjunction with leading universities'. — bizval
- Business Value Calculator costs $99 (discounted from $250), requires an email address, covers 28 industries, asks for net profit before owner's salary, owner's salary/drawings, add-backs, plant and equipment, stock and a business quality rating, uses 'Adjusted Profit x Industry Multiple', and is 'Developed by Chartered Accountants'. — Business Value Calculator
- Equidam uses the Scorecard Method, Checklist Method, DCF with Long Term Growth, DCF with Multiple and the Venture Capital Method; 'we made our methodology open to everyone' with a downloadable methodology document; it covers businesses 'From pre-revenue to IPO' and offers a free start alongside paid plans. — Equidam
- CFO On-Call's page is a written guide rather than an interactive calculator, suggesting '2.5x to 3.5x Net Profit or EBITDA' and stating 'It doesn't replace a formal valuation.' — CFO On-Call
- The AIBB describes Bizstats as 'Australia's Largest Database of Completed Business Sales', 'Exclusive to AIBB Business Broker Members'. — Australian Institute of Business Brokers
- The small business CGT concessions (15-year exemption, 50% active asset reduction, retirement exemption and rollover) each carry eligibility conditions. — Australian Taxation Office
- 'The 2023–24 small business benchmarks help you compare your business's performance against similar businesses in the same industry.' — Australian Taxation Office
- 'Small business benchmarks are currently limited to businesses that supply goods and services directly to consumers', and the calculation excludes 'businesses with turnovers of less than $30,000 and more than $15,000,000'. — Australian Taxation Office
- business.gov.au sets out valuation approaches including current market values of similar businesses, return on investment, asset value, cost to build from scratch and future profit estimation. — business.gov.au (Australian Government)
- Damodaran's current data page lists enterprise value multiples of EBIT and EBITDA by industry group for the US, Europe, Japan, Australia/NZ/Canada, emerging markets and global, updated once a year in the first two weeks of January, as free downloads. — Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern School of Business
- 'In Australia the financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June.' — business.gov.au (Australian Government)
- AIBB Registered Business Valuers are engaged for sales and acquisitions, bank financing, partnership dissolutions, family law, stamp duty and capital gains calculations, compulsory acquisition and expert-witness work. — Australian Institute of Business Brokers
- When engaging a valuer you must set out the scope and purpose, acknowledge the valuer's independence, provide accurate information and state 'that any fee isn't dependent on the report's outcome'; 'Generally, if you engage and properly instruct a professional valuer, you won't be liable for penalties if we find the professional valuation is deficient.' — Australian Taxation Office
Ready for your own number? The valuation calculator is free and ungated, and its methodology is public.